Computer implemented automated credit application analysis and decision routing system

ABSTRACT

A credit application and routing system includes a central processor having and executing a program. The system includes data input capabilities for selectively receiving credit application data from respective applicants at remote locations, and routing capabilities for selectively forwarding the credit application data to remote funding sources and selectively forwarding funding decision data from the funding sources to the respective applicants. The computer program includes routines for receiving a credit application from at least one remote application input and display device, for selectively forwarding a received credit application to at least one funding source, for receiving a funding decision from the at least one funding source, and for forwarding a received funding decision to the at least one remote application input and display device. The system can also obtain credit report data from credit bureaua, and analyze and summarize the credit report data. A computer readable storage medium has a substrate physically configured to represent the computer program which causes a computer to provide the credit application and routing system.

This is a division of application Ser. No. 08/526,776, filed Sep. 12,1995, hereby incorporated by reference. Now U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,403.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to the technical field of data processing, andmore particularly to a computer implemented credit application analysisand decision routing system.

2. Background Information

Obtaining credit and financing of a major consumer purchase has beendone manually in the past. Typically, an applicant fills out a credit(loan) application by hand. A sales representative of the vendor fromwhich the consumer wishes to make his purchase, using information fromthe consumer's application, may then call up a credit bureau to obtainby teletype a credit report on the applicant. Sometimes the creditbureau has an automated computerized system from which the salesrepresentative can obtain the credit report on-line. The process ofobtaining a credit bureau report, regardless of the method used, ishereinafter sometimes referred to as “pulling” a credit bureau report.Subscribers to a credit bureau, such as retail vendors or banks, arecharged a fee by the credit bureau each time they pull a credit bureaureport.

While sales representatives use credit bureau reports to gaininformation regarding an applicant's credit profile that will be helpfulin determining which funding sources, e.g., banks, may be most likely toapprove the applicant's transaction, credit bureau report reviews bysales representatives generally are somewhat superficial. This is inpart due to the fact that certain information in credit bureau reportsis encrypted or abbreviated in ways that render the informationvirtually inaccessible to someone who is not specially trained in creditbureau report analysis, and sales representatives rarely if ever havesuch detailed training. Consequently, the sales representative makes ajudgmental or subjective credit analysis based on the information he canglean from the credit bureau report. The consumer's paper applicationthen is faxed to one or more lenders for detailed credit analysis and adecision by the lender(s) regarding approval of the application.

Put another way, the current industry approach is that prior tosubmitting the application to a funding source or sources, the dealerF&I (Finance and Insurance) staff will request an inquiry copy of theapplicant's credit bureau information, either manually or on-line.Currently, the credit bureau inquiry report the dealer F&I staff uses isin the so-called “TTY format” as provided by the credit bureau. Eachcredit bureau has its own format for their “TTY formatted inquiryresponse.” The dealer F&I staff must be able to read and interpret theinformation in the credit bureau inquiry response because they use thisinformation to determine which funding source or sources are more likelyto approve the applicant's credit application.

Often the dealer's F&I staff must request an applicant's credit bureauinformation from more than one credit bureau, such as when informationon a credit bureau report is lacking in pertinent information, shows anegative credit history, and/or does not agree with the informationprovided by the applicant. The dealer F&I staff then must read andinterpret multiple credit bureau TTY formatted reports consisting oflists of codes and extracts of credit information, which are, as notedearlier, difficult to understand. Finding pertinent information toassist the dealer F&I staff in choosing the appropriate funding sourcesor sources to receive a given application is, therefore, not easy, andthere is a considerable opportunity for errors and misinterpretations tooccur.

At the lender, the faxed application is entered into the lender creditanalysis system and/or forwarded manually to an appropriatedecision-maker to be reviewed. As part of this credit analysis process,the lender also pulls its own credit bureau report(s) on the applicant.Once a decision is made whether or not to provide an approval of theapplication, a written notice is prepared and faxed back to the salesrepresentative or the lender telephones the sales representative withthe lender's decision.

In the automotive sales arena in particular, when a dealer sells avehicle, one of the important services it provides to its customers isvehicle financing. To provide this service, an auto dealer typically hasagreements with multiple financial institutions to provide indirect loanapplication processing and funding. As the term suggests, indirect loansor indirect financing involves any financing transaction which isoriginated by an entity other than the funding source. For example, anauto dealer initiates automobile financing transactions for hiscustomers (e.g., a car loan or lease), but financial institutionsactually fund the transactions. These financial institutions will behereinafter referred to interchangeably as funding sources, lenders, orbanks.

An auto dealer, also referred to hereinafter as a dealership, needsaccess to multiple funding sources so that it can provide credit for allof its customers regardless their credit history and ability to pay.This service is very important to the dealership and most dealershipshave a distinct department to provide just this service, referred to asthe Finance and Insurance department, or simply the “F&I” department.The F&I department takes credit application information (e.g.,Automotive Dealer Indirect Credit information) from its vehiclecustomers, prepares indirect loan or financing applications, hereinafteralso referred to as credit applications or simply the applications, andforwards each application to the funding sources which are consideredlikely to provide credit for particular purchases. In cases where thedealer pulls its own credit bureau report on an applicant, the decisionregarding which funding sources will be sent the application isgenerally based on the dealers subjective review of the credit bureaureport.

Currently, the dealer either manually writes a credit application orenters the application data into an F&I computer system. In the lattercase, the application is printed from the F&I system on paper and thepaper application is faxed to the funding source. In a few instancescertain dealers may have the ability to transmit applications from theircomputers via modem to a preferred funding source(s), but applicationprocessing by the funding source is still performed off-line (i.e.,independently of this transmission process between the dealer and thefunding source) and is not integrated as a single system with thedealer's application preparation process.

If the dealer wanted to send the application to multiple fundingsources, until now, the dealer had to manually fax it or transmit it toeach funding source. If the dealer wanted to make changes to theapplication, the new or revised paper application had to again be faxedor transmitted to the funding source or sources.

Further, after the bank received the paper credit application by fax,the bank would typically then manually enter the application data intotheir credit application processing system, and any changes latersupplied by the dealer would also have to be manually entered. As can bereadily appreciated, the manual processing of credit application data bythe dealer and the bank provides many possibilities for the introductionof errors and delays in the processing, and consequently in the approvalor disapproval decision regarding a credit application.

Entering the application data into the credit processing system at thebank requires bank personnel. Although a large number of automobilepurchases are made on weekends, most banks either do not have any staffor do not have adequate numbers of staff available on the weekends tohandle the application data volume. As no electronic system or deviceexists today for automating financing decisions and review applicationdata entered at a dealership, the current approach typically results ina major backlog of data entry on Monday mornings or the first day aftera bank is closed. Besides the adverse effect on workload, this alsorepresents a delay in processing credit applications.

As described, currently a dealer uses a manual or non-automated approachto find a funding source that is willing to provide a loan to aparticular dealer customer, for a particular vehicle purchase. Thedealer F&I staff manually prepare the loan application and manually faxthe paper application to one or multiple funding sources. The dealer F&Istaff must then wait for the funding source to determine if theapplication is approved or disapproved, or whether additionalinformation is required, and it is not uncommon for hours to elapsewithout any response from the funding sources. Should an unreasonableamount of time elapse, the F&I staff may then decide to call one or moreof the funding sources which were sent the application for an update onthe status of the decision process. The dealer F&I staff must wait whilethe funding source(s) staff enter the credit application in their creditapplication processing system, pull a credit bureau report(s) on theapplicant, and then process the credit application data. The dealer F&Istaff must keep track of when and to which funding sources a particularapplication has been sent, resulting in a substantial record keepingburden. This burden is further magnified when credit application volumeis high, as typically occurs during sales promotions, for example.

As mentioned above, the dealer F&I staff can send an application to one,several or all funding sources available to the dealer. Sending theapplication to all available funding sources at the same time issometimes referred to as “shot-gunning,” a practice used by some F&Idepartments to get the quickest response to a credit application. On theother hand, shot-gunning is naturally discouraged by funding sourcesbecause of the time and overhead required by the funding source staff toenter and process the credit application and the reduced probability ofthe funding source ultimately funding the associated loan or lease fromthe dealer. Manually shot-gunning applications can be time consuming andwasteful of employee resources.

Currently, there is no system permitting sharing of credit bureau reportinformation between funding sources and dealers. Consequently, the costof pulling credit bureau reports may be unnecessarily duplicated at thefunding source and dealer levels. Additionally, as there are threedifferent major credit bureaus in the U.S. market, and each uses aunique format and may have access to different credit information on anygiven individual than the other credit bureaus, the credit analysis anddecision process can become further complicated. For example, if thedealer obtains its report from a different credit bureau than the oneused by the funding source and discussions between the dealer and thefunding source required before any decision can be made, thesediscussions are often hampered by the fact that the two parties to thediscussion, the dealer and the funding source, do not have access to thesame complete set of information which the other party is using to drawits conclusions.

Certain aspects of the above process have been automated to a limitedextent, for example, according to Jones et al. (U.S. Pat. No.5,239,462). However, a need has existed for a comprehensive automationof the whole credit application process to solve the above problems, aswell as to provide additional flexibility and functionality in themanagement of the credit application process.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

An objective of the present invention is to solve the above-mentionedproblems, which include but are not necessarily limited to: (i) manualloan application entry by funding sources, (ii) heavy reliance on verbaltelephone conversations and fax transmissions throughout the applicationrouting, review and approval process, (iii) appropriate funding sourceselection for specific applications, (iv) shot-gunning applications, (v)difficulties with credit bureau report analysis, (vi) duplicating costsfor pulling the same credit bureau report, (vii) the introduction oferrors into applications resulting from the need to enter informationmore than once, (viii) the length of time between submittingapplications to funding sources and receiving responses, (ix) delaysresulting from the funding source being closed or periods of high salesvolumes, and (x) sales representatives/dealers and funding sources nothaving access to identical sets of credit information regarding the sameapplicant.

The present invention further has the following additional objectives.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a centralizedconduit for the collection and transfer of credit applications anddecisions between dealers and funding sources.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a centralizeddatabase which accumulates credit application data.

It is an object of the present invention to allow sales representativepersonnel (e.g., F&I staff) to perform application data entry in orderto eliminate the errors caused by the entry of data by the fundingsources' staff. Further, by substantially eliminating the entry ofcredit applications by the funding sources' staff, except in rare andunusual circumstances, the present invention reduces the need to keeplarge staffs available on weekends, for example, to enter applications.

It is a further object of the invention to balance the creditapplication processing load and reduce the backlog of applications onMondays or the first day after the funding source is closed, forexample.

An object of the present invention is to significantly reduce the timerequired by the overall credit decision process, thereby leveling theapplication delivery load over any given period of time, balancing theapplication load on the system and staff while at the same time allowingboth to handle greater application volumes, eliminating currentbottlenecks in the application analysis, routing and decision process,and providing credit decisions during off-work hours of funding sources.

It is a further object of the invention to reduce the credit applicationprocessing time required by the funding sources.

It is an object of the invention to provide a dealer with on-line andoff-line entering of application data, for transfer to one or morefunding sources sequentially and automatically, and at a time when it isconvenient to the dealer.

It is an object of the invention that, instead of faxing an applicationto the funding sources, a dealer enters the application electronically,either on-line or off-line, and directs the system to selectively sendthe application to any number of funding sources, including conditionsunder which the application should be automatically forwarded toadditional funding sources in the event a decline notice, conditionalapproval, or no response, etc., is received from a funding source(s).

It is also an object of the invention to provide for automatic faxing ofan electronic application, in standardized fax format, to a fundingsource as required, for example if normal lines of communications aredown, or if the funding source does not utilize a system capable ofreceiving an application in other than fax format. “Standardized” heremeans in a format which is standard for the funding source to which thefax is directed, i.e., organized in the format matching the uniquerequirements of each respective funding source.

It is an object of the present invention to maintain faxed applicationsthe same as electronically submitted applications, to provide faxforwarding, and to keep faxed status indications.

It is an object of the present invention to send the applicationdirectly to a funding source credit application processing system,bypassing the need for the funding source to manually enter theapplication.

It is an object of the invention to provide a dealer with ease andflexibility in funding source selection, sequencing and timing,including user selected defaults which can be overridden on acase-by-case basis.

It is an object of the invention to provide for editing of an electronicapplication before or after it is electronically sent to a fundingsource.

It is an object of the invention to provide interactive, on-line andoff-line application data entry, editing and review.

It is an object of the invention to provide a dealer with the ability toaccess credit bureaus, to analyze, summarize and present key creditinformation contained in a credit bureau report in an easilyunderstandable format, thereby rendering the report more valuable toboth the dealer and the funding source as a tool for making creditrelated decisions.

It is an object of the invention to provide for secure access to thecredit application and routing system, facilitating multiple levels ofsecurity.

It is an object of the invention to provide credit applicationmanagement and administrative functions, including statistical analysisof credit application processing, funding source decisions, systemusage, applications pending and with which funding sources they arepending, status of all applications entered during various time frames,etc.

It is an object of the invention to provide workflow management of eachcredit application and an audit trail wherein each significant step ofthe application process is time, date and user-stamped, wherein anyproblems or errors encountered are logged for later analysis andcorrection, and wherein account status, i.e., current charges,transactions processed, etc., can be accessed, as well.

It is an object of the invention to provide a user with access to avariety of optional additional useful features, such as a loancalculator, a loan vs. lease analysis, access to a vehicle pricingguide, news article retrieval, a pop-up calendar, etc.

It is an object of the invention to facilitate lender broadcasts,wherein a lender has the capability to send new product news, forexample, to any or all dealers, individually or in lender definedgroups.

It is an object of the invention to provide various billing features,including automatic direct billing, or billing to a credit card.

It is an object of the present invention to enable the distribution of“pricing,” that is, the transactional costs associated with theprocessing and routing of the credit applications, between the dealerand the bank. According to this object, a bank, as an enticement todealers for originating credit application with them, can agree to paythe dealer's portion of the costs.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an on-line, realtime, solution for the entire automotive indirect loan applicationprocess and funding.

It is an object of the invention to provide direct full-time connectaccess and dial-up access to the system by the dealer, and providedirect connect full-time access to the funding source(s).

It is a further object to provide dial-up access to the system as aback-up to the direct connections for both the dealers and the fundingsources.

It is an object of the present invention to service all dealerships andservice all financial institutions.

It is an object of the present invention to allow for sharing of databetween the bank and the dealer, e.g. credit bureau information, therebyreducing credit bureau costs.

It is an object of the present invention to provide system-wideelectronic news and broadcasts to the entire dealer community.

It is an object of the present invention to allow a dealer to enter andsubmit applications, pull credit bureau information using minimum input,summarize credit bureau information in a readable format, track thestatus of all applications to all banks, direct, redirect and queueapplications to banks, make changes to previously submittedapplications, book an application, and use screens and informationsimilar to the bank's credit analysis screens when talking to bank staffabout the application.

It is an object of the invention that, if the bank is using automaticdecision making and scoring, the dealer can receive applicationacceptance and rejection notices on line, or while on-line can requestor submit additional information.

It is an object of the present invention to provide flexibility in wherean application is entered, allowing dealers to enter their applicationseither on-line, directly into the present invention's centralized systemor off-line in their own F&I system.

It is an object of the present invention to reduce the need for dealersto shotgun applications by allowing the dealer to send an application toa bank immediately upon entry into the system and to receive a quickdecision, in some instances within a few minutes afterwards.

It is an object of the present invention to provide the dealer withfaxing capabilities to funding sources which are not connected to theinvention's electronic network, and to provide faxing of applicationseven to network connected banks as a backup when lines are down or whenthe bank system is not available.

It is an object of the present invention to allow a bank to have onestandardized network and application interface to all of its dealersregardless of the dealer's F&I system, which can be expanded to includenon-automotive customers.

It is a further object of the invention to allow a bank to share creditbureau information with a dealership.

It is also an object of the invention to allow a bank to send messagesand bulletins to the dealers on-line.

It is also an object of the invention to provide for review of thestatus of applications together with decisions and related terms andconditions from the funding sources.

It is also an object of the invention to provide for the use of similarscreens when the funding source and dealership are discussing anapplication.

It is also an object of the invention to provide for automatic decisionmaking and scoring effectively for immediate action by the dealer in“booking” the loan, i.e., selecting the funding source which will issuethe financing.

It is an object of the present invention to provide banks with anautomated method of sending “B & C” credit applications, that is,applications with marginal credit quality as opposed to higher quality“A” credit applications, to their business partners who fund suchtransactions.

It is a further object of the present invention to interface andcommunicate with the banks and the dealers through a variety of mediums,including a Value Added Network (e.g., CompuServe®) with anappropriately sized trunk.

It is an object of the present invention to act as a service bureau toprovide a front-end processor to a bank's credit processing system,taking the individual dealer communication load off of the bank'ssystem, and providing and maintaining the communications protocolbetween the invention system processor and the bank.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a level of securitybetween the bank and dealership, wherein dealers will not be able todirectly connect to the bank, wherein all communications must go throughthe present invention system, wherein only authorized dealers will beable to send applications to the bank via the present invention, andwherein the present invention meets all the security expectations of thebanks.

It is an object of the present invention to facilitate application entrycustomization to verify that specific data fields are entered on theapplication prior to sending it to the bank, wherein each bank can addcustomized data elements to a standard application, for example, thestandard CBA (Consumer Bank Association) application format.

It is an object of the present invention that the dealer will knowimmediately whether an application was received at the bank and if therewere any required data fields on the application that were not entered.

It is an object of the present invention to route an application to oneor more banks as directed by the user, or alternatively, a dealer canindicate which bank or banks to send the application to immediatelyafter entering the application. In instances when more than one bank isrequested, the present invention can route the application to the nextbank automatically using either a time delay as determined by the dealeror the application's decision status or a combination to theapplication's decision status and a time delay. At his discretion thedealer also can manually route the application to the next bank.

It is an object of the present invention to enable dealers to setupdefault funding sources, wherein applications can be scheduled androuted to the default funding sources.

It is an object of the present invention to enable the dealer to seeexactly where each application is in the bank's application processingby keeping a constant update on the status of all applications, keepingtrack of which applications were sent to which banks and when, includingan indication of when the application was received by the bank, theinformation being available to both the dealer and the bank.

It is an object of the present invention to provide comprehensiveanalysis tools for troubleshooting and fixing problems as they occur,and for the answering of questions on-line.

It is an object of the present invention to provide report and printoutfeatures, such that a dealer can cause reports to be generated at thecentral processor of the system and have them faxed to the dealerlocation, wherein file transfer may also be optionally selected, whereinthe reports can relate to any information maintained by the systemconcerning the dealer (for example, the number of credit applicationssent to a particular funding source and their subsequent outcome).

It is an object of the present invention to provide consolidated reportsto “Mega-dealers,” i.e., dealers with several locations and franchises.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a lender historyreport to the dealers, that is, a report which provides, for example,the number of applications sent to any funding source with the percentapproved and rejected, etc.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a centralizedenrollment and billing process, that is, a process for activating andenrolling a dealer, bank, or other user, with a password and ID.

It is an object of the present invention to enable banks to easily andquickly develop and deploy new products and enhancements, whereininitial marketing of new products can occur through the presentinvention, and enrollment of new products can easily occur.

It is an object of the present invention to make it easier for the banksto accommodate growth in the number of dealers and volume ofapplications.

It is an object of the present invention to continuously monitor systemand network performance and utilization.

It is an object of the present invention to permit updating andincreasing system resources and availability as the number of dealersand volume of applications increases, wherein the cost to accommodategrowth in volumes may be spread across all banks and be fixed perapplication.

It is an object of the present invention to provide the bank with onevendor to handle all dealer electronic application entry questions,thereby providing a turnkey solution for the bank.

It is an object of the invention to provide for a dealer to enter anapplication either on-line to the inventive system or off-line, andelectronically transfer the application to the inventive system, theinventive system routing the application to all requested fundingsources and receiving the funding source's response to the application,making the response available to the dealer user on-line and to theoff-line users when they come on-line again, thereby giving the dealercomplete management of the application process.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the above objects, the present invention is acentralized credit application entry and routing system which acceptsapplications from, for example, automotive dealerships, electronicallyand selectively forwards them to funding sources, including fundingsources having computerized credit application systems. The followingadditional features and advantages are achieved according to theembodiments disclosed and claimed.

An embodiment of the present invention with anticipated commercialpotential will sometimes be referred to as “Credit Connection®” herein.All rights in Credit Connection® are expressly reserved. Also,CreditRevue® used herein refers to a proprietary bank credit processingsoftware package of Credit Management Solutions, Inc. (CMSI) and allrights in CreditRevue® and the software package which implements a bankcredit processing system, are also expressly reserved.

A major advantage of present invention relates to the submission of acredit application electronically from an automotive dealer, forexample, to a bank.

Instead of faxing an application to the funding sources, according to anembodiment of the invention, the dealer enters the application directlyto the inventive system electronically on-line, or off-line to a systemlike an automobile dealer's F&I system for later entry into theinvention system through an electronic interface with the F&I system.The dealer then directs the system to selectively send the applicationto any number of funding sources. The system according to the presentinvention sends the application directly to the funding sources creditapplication processing system, bypassing the need for the funding sourceto manually enter the application.

A user, e.g., dealer, can enter a credit application in the systemaccording to the present invention in different ways. For example, thedealer can enter the application on-line via a telephone or networkconnection, for example, by logging-on to the system according to thepresent invention using either an intelligent device, e.g., a personalcomputer performing a terminal emulation, a local host or in-housesystem, or using a dumb terminal at the dealership. The term “terminaldevice” will used herein to encompass any device, e.g., personalcomputer or dumb terminal, located at a logical or physical terminus ofthe system. The application data can then be entered on-line andinteractively through the inventive system's application entry method.

In another way of using the system according to the present invention,the dealer can enter the application data off-line, into its ownoff-line system, for example. After a dealer collects or entersapplication data into its off-line system, the dealer can then log-on tothe inventive system, and transfer a stored application from theoff-line system to the inventive system.

Further, after an application is entered off-line and sent to theinventive system, the dealer can later log-on to the inventive system,and make changes on-line to the application, or otherwise complete theapplication processing. However, any changes thus made to theapplication on-line need not modify the off-line application maintainedin the dealer F&I system.

In either of the above ways of entering an application, the applicationis saved in a database and sent to the banks as requested by the dealer.

Advantageously, the present invention basic application format is thestandard CBA (Consumer Bank Association) application, and eachparticipating funding source can add a number of additional fields tothe basic application format.

After an application is input to the inventive system, the user (dealer)can continue application processing on-line. If the application was sentin from a dealer F&I system, the user can either disconnect andreconnect with the inventive system using the dealer F&I computersystem, or the user can switch from a transfer mode to an interactive,on-line mode on the same connection to complete the application process.However, the exact sequence may be dependent on the functionalityprovided by the particular dealer F&I system.

Advantageously, prior to sending an application to funding sources, theuser can select to use user defined default funding sources, sequencesand timings, or alternatively, the user can select other funding sourcesto which the application is to be sent. The user can select the sequenceof sending, and/or the timing of the each delivery, and/or theconditions upon which each delivery should be executed. Multiple levelsof default are possible.

After funding sources have been selected, the inventive system promptsthe user to enter any additional application fields required by anyparticular funding source selected. When all required application fieldshave been entered for that selected funding source(s), the applicationincluding the appropriate additional application fields is transferredto the appropriate selected funding source in accordance with thesending sequence established by the user.

When all funding source application field requirements have beensatisfied, the application is marked as ready to be sent and transferredto the funding source. After the application has been transmitted to afunding source, an associated application record is marked as sent tothat particular funding source.

After an application has been sent to any or all selected fundingsources or the dealer stops sending to the funding sources, theapplication is marked as pending for those funding sources which weresent the application.

The present invention furthermore simplifies how a dealer manages thefunding sources and selects funding sources for an application. Duringinstallation of the present invention at a dealership, the dealerinitially sets up all of the funding sources with which it has businessagreements. The dealer further sets up default values for selecting andprioritizing the funding sources. For example, the following fundingsource defaults may be set up to be used with every application:

(1) Any of several funding sources which will be initially used whenselecting the funding sources for a type of credit application, i.e.,finance versus lease, “A” quality versus “B & C” quality.

(2) The sequence in which an application is sent to selected fundingsources and the timing of when the application is sent:

(a) The application is sent to selected funding sources at the sametime;

(b) the application is sent in sequence of how the funding sources areentered with a maximum predetermined waiting for decision time periodbefore sending to a next funding source (if sequence sending isselected, the system will stop sending the application to subsequentsources after receiving a positive response from a previous source orforward immediately to the next funding source upon a negativeresponse);

(c) send the application to all funding sources at the same time (i.e.,shotgun).

(3) Automatically fax the application to the funding source if normalcommunications to the funding source are not available. When the dealerhas chosen to automatically fax to the funding source, the dealer isnotified that the application was faxed and the application is marked asfaxed to this particular funding source. If the dealer selected sequencesending, the waiting for decision time period (the delay to the nextfunding source) is overridden and the application is sent to the nextsequenced source without a waiting for decision time period delay. Whenthe dealer has chosen not to automatically fax to the funding source incase normal communications are down, the dealer is prompted whether tofax the application or not. When the dealer chooses to fax theapplication, the application is faxed and marked as being faxed to thisparticular source. If the dealer chooses not to fax the application tothe particular funding source, the funding source is deleted as aselection and the application is sent to the next selected fundingsource.

When the basic application fields have been entered on the inventivesystem, the dealer is prompted to select funding sources. The dealer canthen choose to use the defaults as described above, or to override them.For example, for any particular application the dealer may change whichfunding sources to use either by highlighting or entering a new fundingsource, or by deleting a default funding source. After the dealerselects which funding sources to use for the application, the dealer isprompted to enter any additional fields required, as described above.After all additional fields have been entered, the dealer has theability either to change the funding sources again or to send theapplication to the already selected funding sources.

When the dealer decides to send the application to the funding sources,the dealer is prompted to accept the default sequencing, or to changefrom the default settings for this particular application functionsrelating to (i) the sequence of how the application is sent, (ii) thewaiting for decision time period, (iii) the condition upon whichforwarding the application would terminate, (iv) forward immediatelywhen faxing the application. After the dealer decides when, where, andhow the application is to be sent, the application is sent to thefunding source(s) as already described above.

The dealer has complete control over the selection of which fundingsources to send an application to and the routing of the application tothe funding sources.

A dealer may have more than one funding source. However, it iscontemplated that it may be the case that all dealer funding sources arenot using the present invention. Therefore, as a service to the dealersin this situation, and to make the present invention a one-stop, turnkeyoperation for the user, the dealer can setup funding sources that arenot users of the present invention in the following manner. When adealer sets up their funding sources, the dealer is told by the systemwhether the funding source is a user of the present invention. If thesource is not a user, the dealer is prompted for the fax number of thefunding source.

Thereafter, when a dealer selects which funding sources to send anapplication to, if the funding source is a non-user of the presentinvention, the inventive system automatically faxes the application tothe funding source. The dealer does not need to reenter the fax numberand it is defaulted from the original setup.

Therefore, advantageously, the dealer enters the application on thesystem according to the present invention only once. The system routesthe application as directed by the dealer, using either the defaultrouting scheme or as the dealer customized the routing for a particularapplication.

The invention is further extremely easy to use. Function key use hasbeen minimized and a [HELP] key displays a list of valid function keys.Function keys are made to be consistent with other dealer softwarewherever possible. In addition, an on-line training database isavailable for use with a training video or manual.

A dealer is able to set up information on the system about thedealership using a convenient maintenance screen. This screen includesfields for name and address, credit bureau and application routingpreferences, type of F&I software used, etc. On-line help may beoptionally accessed throughout the various stages of applicationprocessing, scheduling, routing, etc.

To provide system security, a dealer is able to log-on with a unique IDand code and there are many possible options in this regard. Forexample, the dealer could log-on directly to the inventive system over adial-up telephone line or satellite link, or connect via a value-addednetwork to the system according to the present invention.

Each action, e.g., application entry, sending to funding source, bookingthe loan, etc., can be tracked by the system.

In an embodiment of the system according to the present invention,screens are organized so that a dealer can skip over ancillary fieldseasily. For example, a collateral screen is organized so that the dealerdoes not have to “tab” through numerous fields just to enter a paymentamount.

Automatic calculations in spread-sheet fashion may be provided for onthe collateral screen, and “Hooks” to vehicle pricing guides, forexample, or other information, may be optionally provided. Theautomobile vehicle identification number (VIN) is prompted for first inthe collateral screen.

A “quick application” option is provided according to an embodiment ofthe invention, where a dealer can enter just enough information to calla credit bureau, for example. The dealer is able to enter additionalinformation at a later time.

At the end of a short (quick) or a long (full) credit application, thedealer is prompted whether a credit bureau should be called. Filetransfer of application data, to support future F&I interfaces, isaccommodated.

A dealer is also able to specify primary and secondary credit bureaupreferences so that a bureau can be automatically selected and called.Another feature of the invention allows the dealer to selectively callor recall a credit bureau at any time.

An overview screen can be accessed which summarizes information about anapplicant, co-applicant (if applicable), credit bureau, and collateral,for example.

Reviewing credit bureau information is provided for according to anotherfeature of the invention. This allows the dealer to review not only thestandard teletype bureau format but also the invention's unique creditbureau summary which renders the credit bureau information far moreaccessible and understandable. Additionally, the dealer may also viewcredit bureau information regarding public records and credit trades.The screens displaying all such credit bureau report information areadvantageously simplified wherever possible. When more than one creditbureau exists for an application, the dealer is also able to togglebetween the bureaus, greatly facilitating analysis of the differentbureau data. The present invention also supports cases when only part ofthe credit bureau to be viewed by the dealer. There are several options,including view only the teletype, view only the summary information,view the summary information, trades, and public records, and vieweverything, for example.

Depending on the particular installation, various ways can be used torequest credit bureaus, e.g., dial-up, TCP/IP, or LU6.2.

Modifying an entered application is provided for as another feature ofthe present invention wherein a dealer is able to modify any part of apreviously entered credit application. However, there is a warningissued if the dealer tries to modify an application that has alreadybeen sent to a lender. A dealer is also able to resubmit an applicationto a lender which has been modified to add additional information or toedit already entered information, for example.

Various features relating to entering lender required data are providedaccording to another feature of the invention. For example, each fundingsource can specify a number of additional fields from the creditapplication to capture. Once the dealer selects one or more fundingsources, the present invention prompts the dealer for any additionalinformation for a particular funding source if required. Advantageously,the same extra data field is assigned to the same “position” so that thedealer will not have to enter the same additional information more thanonce. According to another feature of the invention, a dealer is able toset up in a configuration file details about the particular fundingsources with which it deals. For funding sources which are users of thepresent invention system, a special code is entered as part of thelender setup.

The present invention supports faxing of credit applications to afunding source, if necessary. The fax is formatted professionally like areal paper credit application, and designates that the application wassent from a system according to the present invention. All the typicalassociated functionality, e.g., fax queuing, handling fax failures,entering and modifying the fax number, etc. are provided for as part ofthis feature of the present invention.

As already noted, a dealer is able to select a plurality of fundingsources to which the credit application will be sent, and if more thanone funding source is selected, various options are available. Forexample, the dealer may optionally send to all at once (shot-gunning),send to each in turn if the previous funding source has declined theapplication, send to each if the previous funding source has notresponded in “N” (a selectable number of) minutes, send to each in turnif the previous funding source has declined or conditioned theapplication, or any combination of the last three ways.

A preferred method of handling multiple funding sources can be stored ina dealer's configuration file which is set up during initialinstallation and is capable of being changed by the dealer.

The present invention system to funding source interface followspredetermined guidelines which are specified in a branch interfacedocument. Each side of the link may have monitors, i.e., the systemscans for incoming credit decisions from the funding sources, and thefunding sources scan for incoming credit applications from the system.In one embodiment, file formats are made up of segments, and a headersegment is the same no matter what is being passed back and forth.Depending on the type of transaction occurring, one or more additionalsegments may be sent.

In the embodiment in which the credit application file containsadditional data fields for any particular funding source(s) (asdescribed above), these additional fields are stored in their ownsegment. Therefore, if no additional fields are required, then thatsegment containing the additional information need not be sent.

Resubmits may require different handling by some funding sources and thepresent invention accommodates this.

The file format supports sending credit bureau information from thefunding source to the dealer, and there are several options, forexample, send only the teletype, send only the summary information, sendthe summary information, trades, and public records, or send everything.

Each funding source is able to send back additional information, such asa score, grade, etc., referred to herein as credit bureau sharing. Thereis also a comment field to enter more complex things, for example, alist of rate/term options. In this case, the funding source side of theinterface can write the complex information into a comment.

Sending and/or reviewing funding source decisions is also provided foraccording to another feature of the present invention. Advantageously, adealer is able to quickly see in summary form, e.g., in tabular form,all pending applications and their decisions from the funding sources towhich they were sent. The dealer is also able to review each decision indetail. If additional information exists, such as score, grade,comments, etc., the dealer is able to display that information as well.With this information at hand, the dealer is better able to select thelender with whom to book the deal.

According to another feature of the present invention, the capability ofoutputting data to be loaded into the dealer's F&I software is alsoprovided.

An audit trail is provided for in the present invention. Eachsignificant step of the process is time, date, dealer and user stamped.The present invention is able to track all problems with interfaces,credit bureaus, faxes, etc.

Other optional functions are also provided for according to furtherembodiments of the present invention. For example, there is a loan vs.lease analysis function, there is an option to query a vehicle pricingguide, there is a funding source history report, there is the ability toreview and save general news articles and funding source articles andnews, a pop-up calendar is provided, and there is an optional functionto allow a dealer to query the status of his account (current charges,transactions processed, etc.).

According to another advantageous feature, a funding source is able tosend a message to one dealer, a group of dealers, or all dealers. Thefunding source has the capability to define dealer groups. Articlesselected by the funding source may be broadcast over the system. Adealer is able to see new (not read before) news articles when theylog-on to the system, and the system can keep track of which newsarticles have been read by which users. Once a news article has beenread, it can be deleted or saved, and if saved, it can be recalled. Newscan also be selectively sent to one or more dealers and/or one or morefunding sources by an administrator or system operator (“SYSOP”).

Security features are provided according to a further embodiment of theinvention. For example, a dealer is able to set up whether or not thesystem will allow an application to be modified after it has been sentto a funding source. The dealer is also able to set up whether thesystem will allow “shot-gunning,” which may or may not be a desirablepractice at a particular dealership due to cost considerations, forexample. The dealer is of course able to define valid users andpasswords, and is able to easily reset a password, delete a user, orchange a user's security. Further, the dealer is able to define whichfunctions a particular user may or may not access. The dealer is able toset up the conditions under which the system will automatically forwardan application to a next selected funding source, and this can beoverridden on a deal-by-deal basis.

Reporting and printing features are provided according to furtherfeatures of the invention. The inventive system allows the dealer toselectively print various types of reports provided for by the system.This information can then be faxed, for example, to the dealer from thesystem's central location. The system advantageously can provide reportson credit applications taken, credit applications decided, creditapplications sent to each lender, credit applications by salesperson,etc. Besides being able to fax reports to the dealer upon request, thesystem can support a file transfer of the report data as well. Thesystem furthermore provides the capability to get reports at a“Mega-dealer” level, however, if so configured, a special user ID andpassword can be required to obtain this report.

Billing features are also provided according to further features of theinvention. Anything that might be used as a basis for billing is made apart of the audit trail, mentioned above. For example, applicationsentered, bureaus requested, faxes sent, resubmissions (“resubmits”),reports requested, etc. Billing reports are available from the system,and billing can be handled in various ways, for example, by sending abill, billing a credit card, or by other methods as arranged with systemusers. Pricing can be spread between the dealer and the bank, and a bankcan determine whether or not to pay the dealer's portion of the costs.

System administration features are provided according to furtherfeatures and include, for example, the ability to start and stopservers, bureaus, faxes, etc., and to archive, backup and restoreprograms and data.

In order to implement the above advantageous features, there is providedaccording to one embodiment a credit application and routing systemcomprising a central processor having a program and operational to:selectively receive credit application data associated with respectiveapplicants from at least one remote applicant terminal device;selectively forward the credit application data to at least one remotefunding source terminal device; and selectively forward funding decisiondata from the at least one funding source terminal device to therespective at least one remote applicant terminal device; and couplingmeans for coupling said central processor to a communications medium tothereby enable the sending and receiving of the credit application dataand the funding decision data over the communications medium.

According to another embodiment, there is provided a credit applicationand routing system including a central processor having a program andfurther comprising: data input means for selectively receiving creditapplication data from respective dealers at remote locations; androuting means for selectively forwarding the credit application data toremote funding sources and selectively forwarding funding decision datafrom the funding sources to the respective dealers.

According to another embodiment, there is provided a computer basedmethod of operating a credit application and routing system, the systemincluding a central processor coupled to a communications medium forcommunicating with remote application entry and display devices, remotecredit bureau terminal devices (computers), and remote funding sourceterminal devices (computers), the method comprising: selectivelyreceiving credit application data from a remote application entry anddisplay device; selectively obtaining credit report data from at leastone remote credit bureau terminal device (computer); selectivelyforwarding the credit application data to at least one remote fundingsource terminal device (computer), if appropriate; and selectivelyforwarding funding decision data from at least one remote funding sourceterminal device (computer) to the respective remote application entryand display device.

According to another embodiment, there is provided a credit applicationand routing system, comprising: a communications medium; centralprocessing means, operably coupled to said communications medium, forexecuting a computer program which implements and controls creditapplication processing and routing; at least one credit applicationinput terminal device, operably coupled to said communications medium,for keyboard entry of at least credit application information, forvisual display of at least funding decision information, and for sendingand receiving to and from said central processing means over saidcommunications medium; and at least one funding source terminal device(computer), operably coupled to said communications medium, forreceiving at least a portion of a credit application over saidcommunications medium from said at least one credit application inputterminal device through said central processing means, and for sending afunding decision to said at least one credit application input terminaldevice through said central processing means over said communicationsmedium.

According to another embodiment, there is provided an article ofmanufacture comprising a computer readable storage medium having asubstrate physically configured to represent a computer program, thecomputer program comprising means for causing a computer to provide acredit application analysis and decision routing system.

According to another embodiment, there is provided a computer programhaving a plurality of program steps to be executed on a computer toimplement and control an interactive credit application and routingsystem, said program comprising: means for receiving a creditapplication from at least one remote application input and displaydevice; means for selectively forwarding a received credit applicationto at least one funding source; means for receiving a funding decisionfrom the at least one funding source; and means for forwarding areceived funding decision to the at least one remote application inputand display device.

In another embodiment, there is further provided means for selectivelyobtaining a credit report associated with a respective applicant from atleast one credit bureau; means for analyzing and summarizing an obtainedcredit report and providing credit report information in an analyzed andsummarized format in order to facilitate a dealer user making a decisionas to which funding source or sources should receive a respective creditapplication, the decision being based on applicant criteria including atleast one of: the credit history of the applicant, and the respectivelending criteria of each funding source; and means for enabling afunding source and a dealer user to share credit reports which either ofthem may have obtained, including sharing credit report information inan analyzed and summarized format provided.

According to a further embodiment, the systems includes means foranalyzing credit application and credit bureau report information,including debt ratio computation, loan to value computation, grading ofapplicant's credit-worthiness, triggering of “decision rules” andissuing a corresponding “alert message” (a decision rule is triggeredwhenever any information regarding the applicant contained in theapplication and the credit bureau report is inconsistent orcontradictory), correcting errors within credit bureau reports where asingle event, such as a loan, may incorrectly be shown as two loans(such corrective function may commonly be referred to as de-duplicatingor de-duping), adjusting debt ratio, loan to value, and lendingparameters where required when inaccuracies are identified, andproviding a plain English interpretation of credit bureau codes andreports.

Regarding the “decision rules,” the invention triggers a decision ruleand displays a corresponding “alert message” when a credit applicationincludes information which the system has been programmed to identify asrequiring investigation prior to approval of the transaction. Thedecision rules include, but are not limited to bank policy rules,lending policy rules of application/bureau consistency rules. A bankpolicy rule may be a policy of a bank that it will not issue loans toemployees. If the applicant is an employee of the bank, a bank policyrule could be triggered and an alert message generated. If a fundingsource has a minimum income policy for loans of specific sizes, alending policy rule could be triggered by an applicant's failure to meetthe appropriate level. If inconsistencies appear between the applicationdata and the credit bureau report data, such as social security numbernot matching, an application/bureau consistency rule could be triggered.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, advantages and features of the inventionand the disclosed embodiments will become apparent from the followingdetailed description taken with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1A is an illustration of a credit application and routing systemaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 1B is an illustration of processing flow in an exemplary embodimentof the invention;

FIG. 1C is an overview processing flow chart for an exemplary embodimentof the invention;

FIG. 2 is a high-level flow chart of some of the main functions of aprogram implementing a credit application and routing system accordingto an exemplary embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2A illustrates in flow chart form the Bureaus (1) branch of FIG. 2;

FIG. 2B illustrates in flow chart form the Funding Selection (2) branchof FIG. 2;

FIGS. 2C-1 and 2C-2 illustrate in flow chart form the Send Application(3) branch of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 2D illustrates in flow chart form the Enter/change Application (4)branch of FIG. 2.;

FIGS. 3A to 3AK are representative screens of the type which would bedisplayed in a credit application and routing system according to anexemplary embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 4 illustrates a computer readable storage medium having a substratephysically configured to represent a computer program for causing acomputer to provide a credit application analysis and decision routingsystem.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

The invention will now be described in more detail by example withreference to the embodiment(s) shown in the Figures. It should be keptin mind that the following described embodiment(s) is only presented byway of example and should not be construed as limiting the inventiveconcept to any particular physical configuration.

With reference to the exemplary embodiment of a credit application androuting system illustrated in FIG. 1, central processor having a programimplementing and controlling credit application processing and routing,i.e., the overall operation of the system, referred to as simply centralprocessor 102 for this discussion, is operably coupled to acommunications medium, for example, a wide area network 104 by, in thiscase, network device 103. Although illustrated as a wide area network,it should be appreciated that the communications medium could take avariety of other forms, for example, a local area network, a satellitecommunications network, a commercial value added network (VAN) ordinarytelephone lines, or private leased lines. The banks may be connected toa VAN with an appropriately sized trunk line; 56K BPS, Fractional T1,T1, multiple T1's, or T3. The communications medium used need onlyprovide fast reliable data communication between its users.

The processor 102 can be any modern main-frame, super-mini orminicomputer system, such as is commercially available from IBM, DataGeneral, or Hewlett-Packard, for example, having the capability ofhandling a real-time, multi-tasking, remote-access database application.The processor provides a centralized conduit for the collection andtransfer of applications between dealers and banks, and in the processalso provides a centralized database which accumulates creditapplication data that is valuable in and of itself. The only informationrequired to be kept on the funding source system is information requiredto process the loan. Status information, for example, is stored on thepresent invention system, not on the funding source system, therebyreducing the overhead for the funding source system.

Related to the collection of data, the invention provides billingfeatures, including automatic direct billing, or billing to a creditcard. Anything that might be used as a basis for billing is made a partof an audit trail, as mentioned above. For example, applicationsentered, bureaus requested, faxes sent, resubmits, reports requested,etc. Billing reports are available from the system. Furthermore, thecosts of activities can be spread between the dealer and the bank, and abank can decide whether or not to pay the dealer's portion of the costs.

Predefined events will create a billing transaction, to be sent to thebilling system. Examples of billable events are:

A. Dealer Billable Events

1) Application Fee, 1st bank

2nd, 3rd, . . . bank

Fax surcharge

2) 1st Credit bureau request

2nd, 3rd, . . . bureau

Plus any bureau charges

3) three-tier % Discount, based on application volume Volume/% Due

4) Tracking for relationship ADP/Reynolds

5) Number of terminals/Network connections

6) Report package “code”

7) On-demand reports

8) Base monthly fee

9) Set-up fee

B. Bank Billable Events

1) Base Monthly fee

2) Application Fee

3) Three-tier volume discount

4) Network costs per month

5) Report Package “codes”/month

6) On-demand reports

7) Tracking relationship D, APPRO, etc.

8) Set-up fee

Each billing event will be logged and recorded at the time of the event.Billing of these events will occur in the billing system.

Administrative functions are also provided, including statisticalanalysis of credit application processing, funding source decisions,system usage, applications pending, status of all applications enteredduring various time frames, etc. The audit trail provides that eachsignificant step of the process is time, date and user-stamped. Dealertime zones can be tracked so that all times displayed to the dealerwould be in their local time zone. The central processor database,however, would always store times using local time, e.g., EST. Anyproblems or errors encountered are logged for later analysis andcorrection. Account status, i.e., current charges, transactionsprocessed, etc., can be accessed, as well. Statistics about electronicand faxed applications are available as well, and thus a dealer does notneed to manually calculate faxed statistics. The present invention thusprovides comprehensive analysis tools for troubleshooting and fixingproblems and answering questions.

In a preferred embodiment, the central processor is a Data Generalsystem running the UNIX operating system, however, practically anyoperating system with multi-tasking capabilities would be suitable. In apreferred embodiment, the database used is a Progress database, that is,it was developed using the Progress development language, however, othermodern databases could also be used.

At a dealer 110, at least one credit application input terminal device112 a, 112 b and/or 112 c, is operably coupled to the communicationsmedium 104 by a network device 113 a or 113 b or modem 113 c. Theterminal devices are for keyboard entry of credit applicationinformation, visual display of funding decision information, and forsending and receiving to and from the central processor 102 over thecommunications medium 104, for example. The dealer terminal device maybe the dealer's F&I system 112 a, a dealer personal computer using aVT100-VT320 emulator 112 b, or simply a dumb terminal device 112 c. Thecredit application would typically be a standard CBA (Consumer BankAssociation) application, however, each participating funding source canadd a number of additional fields to the basic application format. Thepresent invention thus advantageously provides the funding source withone standard application format with its own required additional fieldsfrom all dealers using the system. A “quick” application is alsosupported.

At a funding source 120 there is some sort of computer likewise operablycoupled to the communications medium 104 for receiving a creditapplication over the communications medium 104 input from a creditapplication input terminal device 112 a-112 c under control of thecentral processor 102, and for sending a funding decision to a creditapplication input terminal device 112 a-112 c through the centralprocessor 102 over the communications medium 104. As illustrated, such afunding source computer may be a Bank CreditRevue® System 124 a coupledby an interface 122 a and network device 123 a to the communicationsmedium 104, or some other Bank Credit Processing System 124 b (i.e., nota CreditRevue® System) similarly coupled via an interface 122 b andnetwork device 123 b. CreditRevue® refers to a proprietary softwarepackage available from Credit Management Solutions, Inc. (CMSI). Since agoal of the present invention to service all dealerships and service allfinancial institutions, accommodation of a variety of different bankcredit processing systems is accomplished through such an interface 122b as illustrated. However, if a lending source bank is usingCreditRevue®, the inventive system takes advantage of the variousformats used in CreditRevue®, thereby simplifying use.

The Credit Connection® host interfaces 122 a and 122 b at the fundingsources 120 receive the credit application data over the communicationsmedium 104 through the network devices 123 a and 123 b, respectively,and provide a communications interface to the funding source creditprocessing systems 124 a and 124 b, respectively. The interfaces 122 aand 122 b serve as front end processors taking the burden of handlingcommunications, data formatting, etc., off of the funding source creditprocessing systems 124 a and 124 b. The present invention will provideand maintain the communications protocol between the dealers and thefunding source.

As noted above, an objective of the present invention is to send theapplication directly to a funding source credit application processingsystem, bypassing the need for the funding source to manually enter theapplication. However, as explained in the summary section, if normallines of communication are down, in this case the network 104, or if theapplication is to be sent to a funding source that does not have anactive automated credit processing system (non-electronic fundingsources or down bank system) or does not have an active CreditConnection® host interface 122 a or 122 b, as examples, the centralprocessor 102 can have a telefax facsimile credit application sent to afunding source via fax host 105 and non-automated fax 125.

Besides eliminating the errors caused by the entry of data by thefunding source staff, it is also an objective of the present inventionto reduce the need to keep large staffs available on weekends, forexample, to enter applications and to balance the credit applicationprocessing load reducing the backlog of applications on Mondays or thefirst day after the funding source is closed, for example. The presentinvention spreads the application delivery load over a longer timeframe, balancing the load on the system and staff, eliminating theMonday morning bottleneck, and minimizing response time to the dealer.

Therefore, this faxing capability is considered a fallback arrangement,since the present invention ideally eliminates entirely any need formanual entry of application data. The present invention provides for faxforwarding and a faxed status is kept. The present invention maintainsfaxed applications in its database the same as electronically submittedapplications.

A print of a completed application can be sent to the dealer ifrequired, for example, since some banks may require a signed copy of theapplication.

As also illustrated, the central processor 102 is connected to one ormore Credit Bureaus 130 in a similar fashion, i.e., with network devices133 a-133 c, for example. As assumed, the credit bureaus generally havea computer system which is accessible over dial-up lines or acommunications network. Such credit bureaus include, for example, TRW,CBI (Equifax) and TRU (Trans Union). The credit application and routingsystem according to the present invention can advantageously handleconnecting to the credit bureau, transferring the needed information,e.g., name, address and social security number, to the credit bureau,and receiving the credit bureau report, automatically or interactively.Credit application information can be edited before forwarding a creditapplication to a funding source. Electronic sharing of credit bureauinformation and related data from the bank to the dealer advantageouslyreduces credit bureau costs.

A communications module of the program running in the central processor102 handles the details of communicating with the various dealers 110,funding sources 120 and credit bureaus 130, including the telefaxing, ifrequired. There is also communication programming in the interfaces 122a and 122 b to function as front end processors at the respectivefunding sources, however, details of this aspect of the invention areroutine. As would be readily apparent to one skilled in the art, theindividual dealer communication load is taken off the bank's system bythe provision of a front end processor.

The present invention includes a computer program which embodies thefunctions described herein and illustrated in the appended flow charts.However, it should be apparent that there could be many different waysof implementing the invention in computer programming, and the inventionshould not be construed as limited to any one set of computer programinstructions. Further, a skilled programmer would be able to write sucha computer program to implement the disclosed invention withoutdifficulty based on the flow charts and associated description in theapplication text, for example. Therefore, disclosure of a particular setof program code instructions is not considered necessary for an adequateunderstanding how to make and use the invention. The inventivefunctionality of the claimed computer program will be explained in moredetail in the following description in conjunction with the remainingfigures illustrating the program flow.

It should also be noted that in developing the computer program aspectsof the invention, and in implementing a commercial embodiment of theinvention, the applicants have written program code. The computerprogram with respect to the various processes implemented by thisprogram code, as noted above, are considered to be within the scope ofthe appended claims. The applicants' program code is further covered andprotected by copyright, and this disclosure in no way should beconstrued as waving any rights of the applicants or their successorsand/or assignees in the program code protected by copyright.

The present invention makes it easier for the banks to accommodategrowth in the number of dealers and volume of applications. Updating andincreasing system resources and availability as the number of dealersand volume of applications increases is readily accomplished with thecentralized system according to the present invention. The cost toaccommodate growth in volumes can be easily spread across all banks andis fixed per application. The funding sources are provided with onevendor to handle all dealer electronic application entry questions, andhaving staff to continuously monitor system and network performance andutilization. Centralized enrollment and billing provide increasedefficiency to the whole credit application handling process.

FIG. 1B is an illustration of processing flow in an exemplary embodimentof the computer program aspects of the invention. As already notedabove, “Credit Connection®” is used herein to refer to a commercialembodiment of the present invention. Starting with block 142, a creditapplication is entered, either indirectly through the dealer F&I systemoff-line from the Credit Connection® host computer, or directly to thehost computer system according to the present invention, i.e., on-linedirectly to the Credit Connection® host. Off-line entering ofapplication data advantageously provides for transfer to one or morefunding sources at a time when it is most convenient for the dealerand/or for the funding sources. Flexibility in where an application isentered is provided by allowing dealers to enter their applicationseither on-line, directly into the present invention's centralized systemor off-line in F&I software.

The basic application format is the standard CBA (Consumer BankAssociation) application, however the application can be a fullapplication, or a “quick” application, that is, an abbreviatedapplication where a dealer enters just enough information to call acredit bureau. The dealer is able to enter additional information tocomplete the application at a later time.

The quick application option permits a dealer to enter just enoughinformation to call a credit bureau, for example. Applicant name,address, social security number, and date of birth, for example would beincluded for each applicant, as well as “critical” scoring fields, suchas own/rent, time at residence, income, etc., which could, however, beskipped if calling a credit bureau is the only purpose of the quickapplication entry. The dealer is able to “convert” a quick applicationto a complete application, for example, by selecting the modify optionand adding/modifying information for one section of the application, orselecting to update each section in turn.

At the end of application entry, the user can immediately choose to sendthe application (to a default lender), select a lender from adisplayable list of possible lenders, or call a credit bureau.

Once entered at block 142, a decision is made at block 143 whether tocall, that is, connect to, a credit bureau. If a credit bureau is to becalled, the bureau is called and a credit report retrieved. Flow thengoes to block 144.

In block 144, the dealer has the ability to review the credit bureauinformation, including an overview, summary and itemized trades. (Thelender can also selectively review the status of credit applicationsfrom the dealers with the present invention). Examples of screensdisplaying the credit bureau information are illustrated in FIGS. 3A to3AD, and will be described in greater detail later. If another creditbureau is to be accessed (pulled), as decided at 145, block 144 isrepeated. A dealer may want to access another credit bureau if theprevious report obtained is inconclusive or incomplete.

It is noted that currently, a funding source pulls a credit report orreports on an applicant itself, however, the present invention has thecapability of sending the dealer obtained credit report information tothe funding source along with the credit application information, shouldchanges in funding source credit policies, procedures, laws and/orregulations change.

On the other hand, if no other credit bureau is to be accessed asdetermined at 145, then flow branches to the select funding sourcesblock 146. If the decision at block 143 was not to call a bureau, flowalso proceeds to block 146.

As already mentioned, the present invention provides flexibility infunding source selection, and routing, i.e., sequencing and timing.Dealer selected defaults for source and routing are provided atinstallation, but can be overridden on a case-by-case basis.

In block 146, a funding source (or sources) is selected to send thecredit application, along with credit bureau information, if applicable.If multiple sources are to receive the credit application, then thetiming and order of sending is also selected, that is, the routing ofthe credit application. Routing selections include one funding source ata time in sequence until a positive decision is returned or until a settime has elapsed (conditional), or all funding sources at once(shot-gunning), for example. However, it should be remembered that oneobjective of the present invention is to reduce the need for dealers toshotgun applications by reducing the time required to obtain a creditdecision from a funding source, for example. Therefore, a dealer canadvantageously configure the system defaults so that shot-gunning is notpermitted by its users, e.g., F&I personnel.

Ideally, a dealer enters the credit application data electronically,either on-line or off-line, and directs the system to send theapplication to a primary funding source. However, since efficientservice to customers is paramount to the dealer, the ability toautomatically send the application to another funding source after anunacceptable period of time has elapsed since sending it to a previousfunding source, permits the dealer to reduce the time needed to close adeal.

The present invention can thus automatically route the application tothe next funding source using either a time delay as determined by thedealer, or using the application's status.

The present invention allows a dealer to pre-set the lenders to whom anapplication is to be sent and to determine the conditions when theapplication is automatically sent to a second or third lender. However,the dealer can also elect to review a decision before sending theapplication to the next lender in the sequence.

When the operations in block 146 have been completed, that is theselecting of a funding source and the selecting of the routing for thecredit application, the credit application is transmitted and flow istransferred to the funding source, in particular, block 147.

Once the dealer calls a specific credit bureau or a credit bureau istransferred from a lender, that bureau is never replaced by anotherbureau unless the dealer chooses to recall the specific bureau.

As illustrated at blocks 147 to 150, the funding source receives theapplication with interface 122 a, for example, and an initial decisionis made by the funding source's credit processing system 124 a. If thefunding source requires an analyst's review of the credit applicationand initial decision, as determined at block 148, then flow proceeds toblock 149, where the analyst conducts the review. Once the review isconcluded, or if no analyst review was required, flow proceeds to block150 and the final decision is transmitted back to the central processorof the credit application and routing system at block 151. Of course, ifthe funding source is not using the system according to the presentinvention, or does not return decisions on-line for whatever reason, thedecision would have to be manually entered by the dealer.

The present invention ideally allows a dealer to enter and submitapplications, pull credit bureau information using minimum input, reviewsummarized and analyzed credit bureau information in a readable format,track the status of all applications to all banks, either as a group orsingularly, direct and redirect applications to banks, make changes topreviously submitted applications, book an application, and use screensand information similar to a bank's Credit Processing System, e.g.,CreditRevue® or other credit processing system, screens when talking tobank staff about an application. Likewise, a funding source can viewsimilar screens when talking to the dealership about an application. Ifthe funding source is using automatic decision making and scoring, thedealer can wait on-line for application acceptance, rejection or requestfor additional information.

At block 152, the dealer reviews a display of the status of the creditapplication, e.g., granted, granted with conditions, or declined andreasons why declined. If multiple decisions are being waited for, thedealer can review them individually as they arrive and does not have towait for all credit decisions to be returned. Exemplary display screenswill be described later with reference to the figures showing them.

Advantageously, with the system according to the invention, the dealerwill know immediately whether the application was received at the bankand if there were any fields on the application that were not entered.Further, the present invention enables the dealer to see exactly whereeach application is in the funding source process. The present inventionkeeps a constant update on all applications and keeps track of whichapplications were sent to which funding sources and when. The statusindicates when the application was received by the funding source and isavailable to the dealer and the funding source. The dealer knows readilyexactly which funding sources the application was sent to.

At block 153 a decision is made whether the credit application should besent to additional funding sources, for example, where a single fundingsource was initially selected, but it either declined the loan, orplaced unacceptable conditions on the loan. If additional fundingsources are to be selected, flow returns to block 151 until acceptableapproval of the credit application is achieved.

If a dealer modifies an application after it has been sent to a lender,the present system stores only one copy of the application, i.e., themodified version. However, if the modified application is subsequentlyresubmitted to the lender, it is sent as a new application.

At block 154, if the credit application was approved and the terms andconditions are acceptable, the associated funding source is marked forbooking. Circle 155 indicates the credit application processing is done.

FIG. 1C presents an overview of processing flow for an exemplaryembodiment of the invention from another perspective. At block 162, thedealer, using a remote terminal and modem (112 c, 113 c), or personalcomputer emulating a terminal, for example, connects with the centralprocessor (102) and logs-on to the system. At block 163, an applicationis directly entered interactively with the system. On the other hand, ifan application is entered into the dealer's local F&I system, i.e.,block 164, at block 165, the previously entered application data is sentto the central processor (102) of the system.

At block 166, a credit bureau (or bureaus) is selected and a creditinquiry is sent. At block 167, a credit file is received from the creditbureau, processed at block 168, and reviewed at block 169.

Funding source (or sources) is selected at block 170, and any additionalinformation over and above the basic information entered on the creditapplication, is requested and entered in block 171. The method ofrouting to send the application to the selected funding sources isselected in block 172, and in block 173, the credit application, alongwith additional information, if it was required, is sent to and loadedon the funding source's credit processing system according to therouting method selected.

After processing at the funding source, a decision is sent back at block174 to be reviewed by the dealer at block 175. If the decision waspositive and the terms and conditions acceptable, the booking is sent tothe funding source at block 176.

With reference to FIG. 2 which is a high-level flow chart of some of thefunctions of a program implementing a credit application and routingsystem according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the creditapplication and routing process will now be described in more detail.

Steps 202 to 213 outline generally the typical steps for connecting withthe credit application and routing system and then displaying a mainmenu. Steps 202 to 211 relate to the logging-on and transfer of anapplication, which was entered off-line, from a dealer F&I system to thecredit application and routing system, while steps 212 and 213 relate tologging-on to the system for entering an application on-line directlyfrom an emulator or dumb terminal. In step 202 the dealer entersapplication data into the dealer F&I system and in step 203 dials intothe credit application and routing system host. The term “dials into” isbeing used in a general sense to cover any of a variety of ways ofconnecting to the host and thus should not be construed as limited to atelephone dial up, for example, although that may typically be the case.

At step 204, the dealer system sends a dealer ID. This step should beconstrued as generally representing other typical security measures,such as verifying the ID, requesting a password, verifying the password,etc. Secure access to the credit application and routing system isprovided by dealer configurable ID's and passwords, and a hierarchy oflevels of access, for example. Multiple levels of security are therebyfacilitated.

Further, the present invention provides security between the fundingsource and a dealership, i.e., dealers will not be able to directlyconnect to the funding source, since everything must go through thesystem according to the present invention. The present invention thuscan provide a secure interface between the dealer and the fundingsource. Only authorized dealers will be able to send applications to thefunding source via the present invention. The present inventiontherefore meets the security expectations of the banks.

As part of system security, some functions may be defined so they can beturned on or off, and users can only execute those functions which areon for them. Examples of functions which may be protected includeentering applications, selecting funding sources, transmittingapplications, looking at credit bureau reports, calling bureaus,reviewing lender decisions, and pulling reports.

If an application is to be sent as decided at step 205, flow proceeds tostep 206 where a transfer mode is enabled, and step 207 where thetransfer of the credit application to the credit application and routingsystem takes place.

The present invention also provides for editing of an electronicapplication before or after it has been electronically sent to a fundingsource. Interactive, on-line application data entry, editing and revieware facilitated. The present invention further facilitates applicationentry customization and verifies that specific data fields are enteredon the application prior to sending it to the bank. Each bank can addcustomized data elements to the standard application, thus customizingthe application being sent.

After the transfer is complete, a switch is made to an interactive modeas indicated at step 208. At step 209, the user is prompted for a userID. The user enters the user ID in step 210, in like fashion with steps203 and 204, and the credit application and routing system main menu isthen displayed, as indicated at step 211. If the dealer is going toenter a new application on-line from a dumb terminal or emulator device,for example, the process begins at step 212, where the dealer dials intothe credit application and routing system host and enters an ID, in alike fashion with steps 203 and 204, described above. Flow then proceedsto step 209 where the user ID is entered and where the creditapplication and routing system main menu is display. This dealer wouldthen select application entry from the main menu (illustrated in FIG.3A), indicated as circle 4 “Enter/change Application” in FIG. 2. Theflow of the application entry (and change) process is illustrated inFIG. 2D and will be described in detail below.

The credit application and routing system main menu provides access to avariety of operations, and representative ones of these are shown as thecircles at the bottom of FIG. 2. Circle 1, “Bureaus,” represents theoperations related to a credit bureau, such as selecting a bureau toaccess, reviewing the credit information from the bureau, selectinganother bureau, etc. Circle 2, “Funding Selection,” represents theoperations related to funding sources and the operations related tosending a credit application to one or more sources, such as selecting“shot-gunning,” conditional sending to multiple sources, or sending to asingle funding source, for example. Circle 3, “Send Application,”represents operations related to sending an application to a fundingsource, such as formatting the data, activating a communicationsroutine, etc. Circle 4, “Enter/change Application,” representsoperations related to entering and/or editing a credit applicationon-line. Additional optional operations, such the loan vs. leaseanalysis, the calculator, and the news article access, mentioned abovein the summary section, are also provided for, however, theirillustration and detailed description is not necessary for an adequateunderstanding of the invention.

Optional additional useful features, such as a loan calculator, a loanvs. lease analysis spread sheet, access to a vehicle pricing guide, newsarticle retrieval, a pop-up calendar, E-mail, etc., are provided. Lenderbroadcasts provide a lender with the capability of sending new productnews, for example, to any or all dealers, individually or in groups.Funding sources can easily and quickly develop and deploy new productsand enhancements, and initial marketing of new products can occurthrough the broadcast news on the present invention. Enrollment of newproducts can easily occur with the present invention system. Otherelectronic news and broadcasts to the entire dealer community, and/orelectronic news to a particular dealer by the system administrator isalso possible.

FIG. 2A relates to the bureau functions represented by circle 1 in FIG.2. Assuming at least minimal credit application data for an applicanthas been entered, the dealer can select the bureau to access, call thebureau selected, and review the bureau credit data for the applicant indifferent ways, such as an overview, a summary, or in detail byindividual trades. Exemplary displays of credit data are illustrated inFIGS. 3U, 3V, 3W, 3X and 3Y. The dealer can further select anothercredit bureau to call if, for example, the credit information from onebureau is inadequate for some reason.

FIG. 2A illustrates the bureau selection and send process and isdescribed as follows. Flow begins at circle 1 (215) and proceedsdirectly to decision 216 on whether to use defaults or not. If thebureau defaults are to be used, flow proceeds to block 217 where thedefault bureaus are called, and 218 where the received bureau data isformatted and displayed in the inventions summary display, thenproceeding to the decision 219 on whether the dealers wants to calladditional bureaus. If the dealer wants to call additional bureaus, theflow proceeds to block 220 and block 221 where the bureaus are calledand data is displayed the same as in 217 and 218. Following the callingand displaying of the bureaus flow proceeds at block 222, whether todisplay the bureau data in TTY format. If the dealer wants to displaythe bureau in TTY format proceed to 223 where the data is displayed inTTY format then to decision 224 as to whether to display additionalbureaus in the TTY format. If the dealer does not want the TTY format ofthe bureau or the dealer has displayed the bureau data in TTY format,the flow proceeds to decision 225 as to whether to display the bureausummary format or not. If the dealer wants to see the summary format,flow proceeds to 226 where the bureau data is formatted and displayed inthe summary format then to decision 227 as to whether to displayadditional bureaus in the summary format, then to 228, to return to mainmenu. If the dealer does not want the summary format, the flow proceedsdirectly to 228 to return to main menu.

With reference to FIG. 2B, the Funding Selection operations representedby circle 2 in FIG. 2 are illustrated. Flow begins at circle 2 (231) andproceeds directly to a display of a lender default list 232, and thendefault routing selections 233 are displayed. Flow proceeds to decision234A on whether to use dealer defaults or not. If not using the dealerdefaults, flow proceeds to 234B to choose lenders and routing, and thento decision block 235.

If the dealer defaults are going to be used (yes), flow proceedsdirectly to decision block 235 where it is determined if all data isentered, i.e., if processing of selected lenders is completed. If thedealer defaults are not going to be used, or after new lending sourcesare selected, flow proceeds from decision block 235 (no) to decisionblock 236 where it is determined whether a funding source requires anyadditional credit data. If no additional data is required (no), flowreturns to decision block 235 to determine if processing of selectedlenders is complete.

However, if additional data is required (yes), flow proceeds to decisionblock 237 where it is determined whether the additional data has beenappended to the credit application, i.e., if any additional data has notbeen entered. If the additional data has been entered, i.e., if there isno additional data to enter, then this funding source selection processis complete and flow returns from decision block 237 (no) to decision235 to determine if the processing of all lenders is complete. If theadditional data has not been entered (yes), then flow proceeds to block238 where the additional data for the funding source is entered. Afterthe additional data has been entered, flow returns to decision 235 todetermine if the processing of all lenders is complete, and the processis repeated for the next lender until all lenders have been processedand this phase is done (239). Of course, after the application has beenentered on-line, the dealer can choose to send the applicationimmediately to a funding source using system defaults.

FIGS. 2C-1 and 2C-2 illustrate the Send Application process, circle 3 inFIG. 2. Flow begins at circle 3 (241) and proceeds to decision 242 onwhether to send to one lender at a time. If the application is to besent to all of the selected lenders at the same time, flow proceeds todecision 243 to determine if there are any lenders left to send theapplication to. If there are additional lenders to be sent to (yes),flow proceeds to decision 244. If the lender is electronically connectedto the inventive system (a Credit Connection® “CC” lender, for example),flow proceeds to block 245 where the application is electronicallytransmitted to the lender, then returns to block 243 to decide if morelenders to send to remain. If the lender is not electronically connectedto the invention, flow proceeds from block 244 to 246 where theapplication is faxed to the lender, and flow then returns to 243.

If no additional lenders are to receive the application, flow proceedsfrom block 243 to 247 and returns to the main menu.

If the application is to be sent to one lender at a time, flow proceedsfrom block 242 to circle 3A in FIG. 2C-1 (248), and picks up in FIG.2C-2.

FIG. 2C-2 illustrates the flow where all lenders are sent theapplication at different times. Flow begins at Circle 3A (248) andproceeds to decision 250 where it is determined if all lenders havereceived the application. If all lenders have been sent the application(no), flow proceeds to 251 to return to the main menu.

If some lenders remain to receive the application (yes), flow proceedsto decision 252 where it is determined if the last lender waselectronically transmitted to. If the last lender was transmitted theapplication electronically (yes), flow proceeds to decision 253 todetermine if a decision has been received from the last lender. If adecision has not been received (no), flow proceeds to decision 254 todetermine if a predetermined time has expired since sent to the lastlender after which the application is to be sent to the next lender. Iftime has not expired (no), flow proceeds back to decision 253 todetermine if a decision has been received from the last lender. However,if the predetermined time has expired, flow proceeds from decision block254 to 257 to determine how to send to the next lender, i.e.,electronically or by fax.

If a decision has been received from the last lender as determined atblock 253, flow proceeds to decision 255, where if the application isapproved (yes) flow proceeds to 256 and returns to the main menu.However, if application was not approved (no), flow proceeds to decision257 to determine how to send the application to the next lender.Decisions 257, 258 and 259 represent the same process and procedures asdescribed with respect to items 244, 245 and 246 in FIG. 2C-1.

Therefore, FIGS. 2C-1 and 2C-2 illustrate the send application routingprocess, circle 3 of FIG. 2. A decision on whether or not to use thedealer's default routing is made. If the default is used, flow returnsto the main menu. If the default routing is not going to be used, newrequirements for routing are entered and flow then returns to the mainmenu. If more than one funding source is requested, the presentinvention can route the application to the next funding source eithermanually or automatically, after a predetermined time delay or aapplication rejected response, for example. The various types of routinghave been described above and include “shot-gunning,” sending to eachsource in turn if the previous funding source declined (rejected) theapplication, send to each source if the previous funding source has notresponded in “N” (a selectable number of) minutes, send to each sourcein turn if the previous funding source declined or conditioned theapplication, or any combination of the last three items. The presentinvention can automatically route the application to the next fundingsource using either a time delay as determined by the dealer, or usingthe application's status.

With reference to FIG. 2D, the Enter/change Application operations,represented by circle 4 in FIG. 2, are illustrated. Flow begins atcircle 4 (261) and proceeds to decision 262 where it is determinedwhether this is a new application, or an already entered application tobe edited. If the latter is the case (not a new application), flowproceeds to block 263 where a list of all the existing dealerapplications entered on-line and off-line are displayed, and then toblock 264 where an existing application is selected from the list ofcurrently available applications. At block 265, the application selectedis displayed and changing or adding data to the selected application isrepresented by block 266. When the editing is completed, flow thenreturns 267 to return to the main menu. Credit applications which wereentered on-line or off-line can be accessed and edited.

On the other hand, if a new application is being entered as determinedin decision 262 (yes), then flow proceeds to the block 268 decisionwhere a decision to enter a “Quick” application is made. If the Quickapplication is determined (yes), flow proceeds to block 270 where theQuick application (minimum) data is entered. If the credit applicationis not to be a Quick application, then flow proceeds to block 269 wherebase application data is entered. After either type of new applicationdata has been entered, flow proceeds to 267 to return to the main menu.

Various reports are available on-demand. Some basic reports may bepre-compiled for a dealer so that they can be viewed on-line. Optionaladditional useful features, such as a loan calculator, a loan vs. leaseanalysis spread sheet, access to a vehicle pricing guide, a pop-upcalendar, E-mail, etc., are provided and accessible through menuselection or function key activation. Detailed illustration of thesefeatures is not necessary for a complete understanding of the invention.

An on-line lender encyclopedia is available on the system according tothe invention. The encyclopedia is a database of lenders whichidentifies various lenders and summaries specific relevant informationabout each one, such as policies and credit guidelines for example.Dial-in function for lenders allows them to add/update/delete entriesfrom their encyclopedia, and dealers can see entries for lenders withwhom they are signed up.

Next, a series of exemplary display screens will be discussed.Interactive use of the system is menu driven. Beginning with FIG. 3A1,this is an example of a first interactive screen where a user wouldenter their user ID and password. After correctly entering user ID andpassword, the next screen, for example as shown in FIG. 3A, would be amain menu including news from the system administrator below it. This istypical of a first screen a user would see after logging onto the systemin accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

The main menu according to FIG. 3A has six choices: (1) ApplicationEntry; (2) Quick Application Entry; (3) Pending Decision; (4) PendingDelivery; (U) Utilities; and (X) Exit the system. As indicated in theprompt message below the news block, a menu item may be chosen, orfunction key F12 can be pressed for more options.

FIG. 3B illustrates the display after pressing “1” for ApplicationEntry. Below the main menu, four application parameters are displayedwhich can be changed by the user. As displayed, the first parameter canbe either “New” or “Existing: and “New” is the current parameter entry.This means the system is expecting entry of a new application, ratherthan editing of an existing application.

The next parameter, “Personal/Business” is currently “Business”indicating the application will be a business type credit applicationrather than a personal type.

The next parameter, “Individual/Joint/None” is currently “J” for joint,indicating the application is for a joint business, rather than“Individual” for a single business, or “None.”

The final parameter, “Loan/Lease/Balloon” is currently “L” indicatingthe application is for a loan, rather than for a lease or a balloon typeof arrangement.

FIGS. 3B(1) to 3L are the 10 parts of the application to be filled in,according to an embodiment of the invention. The individual parts to befilled in are dependent on the type of application and applicant. FIG.3B(1) illustrates a screen with a first part of the application to befilled in with business information, only used for a business typeapplication.

FIG. 3C illustrates a screen where the applicant's name, address andother demographic information is entered.

FIG. 3D illustrates a screen where the applicant's employmentinformation is entered, and FIG. 3F is a screen for entering credit andcreditor information.

FIGS. 3G, 3H and 3I are screens where a co-applicant name, address,employment and credit information would be entered.

Automotive Collateral information is entered on the screen shown in FIG.3J, Finance Information is entered using the screen illustrated in FIG.3K, and additional information (“Comments”) is entered on the screenillustrated in FIG. 3L. After all of these parts of an application arefilled in, the user would return to the main menu, as shown in FIG. 3M.

At the main menu, FIG. 3M, after selecting 2, Quick Application entry,the screen as shown in FIG. 3N would be displayed. FIG. 3N illustrates ashort version of the application, where only applicant informationrequired for a credit bureau inquiry is entered.

Selecting “Pending Decision” (item 3) from the main menu would display alist (queue) of applications pending decision, as illustrated in FIG.3O, and a pending decision menu as illustrated in FIG. 3P. From thispending decision menu, various displays can be accessed, including itemsD, O, S, B, C, P, R and T, which are shown in FIGS. 3Q to 3Y.

If item D, Lender Decisions is selected, a screen such as that shown inFIG. 3Q will be displayed having in particular a list of lenders,application numbers and decisions. The list also has the contact at thelender and other useful information.

Selecting item O, Application Overview, from the pending decision menudisplays a screen such a that shown in FIG. 3R. As is apparent, anoverview of an application is displayed including applicant information,auto/loan information and credit bureau information.

If item S, send application to lenders, is selected from the pendingdecision menu, a screen such as that shown in FIG. 3S is displayedshowing a list of possible lenders. FIG. 3T displays at the bottom ofthe figure a box labelled “Enter the Lenders” having a field for afirst, second and third lender, and for a routing selection, i.e., “Sendto All/One by One.” From this screen, a dealer would select up to threelenders and the routing option for an application.

Various credit bureau displays are also accessible from the pendingdecision menu. For example, selecting item B, Display Credit Bureau,displays a screen such a that shown in FIG. 3U; selecting item C, CreditBureau Summary, displays a screen such a that shown in FIG. 3V;selecting item P, Display Public Records, displays a screen such as thatshown in FIG. 3W; selecting item R, Request Additional Bureaus, displaysa screen such as that shown in FIG. 3X; and selecting item T, DisplayTrades, displays a screen such as that shown in FIG. 3Y.

FIG. 3Z shows a Select Next Station menu box with three items: PendingDecision, Pending Delivery and Completed. The user can manually move anapplication between the different stations instead of allowing theinventive system to automatically move it. Each of the stations havebeen or will be explained in this disclosure.

Returning to the Main Menu shown in FIG. 3B, selecting item 4, PendingDelivery, displays a screen such as that shown in FIG. 3AA listingapplications which are pending delivery, and a pending delivery menuillustrated in FIG. 3AB with a variety of menu selections, and a LenderList as illustrated in FIG. 3AC. The pending delivery menu provides thesame selections as the pending decision menu FIG. 3P.

Returning to the Main Menu shown in FIG. 3B, selecting item U,Utilities, causes Utilities menu FIG. 3AD to be displayed. As an addedlevel of security, only specific dealer staff has access to theutilities menu. Selecting D, Dealer Setup, displays a screen such asthat shown in FIG. 3AE with current dealer setup information listed.From this screen, a user can update the dealer setup information.

Selecting L, Lender Setup, from the Utilities Menu shown in FIG. 3AD,displays a screen such as that shown in FIG. 3AF with current lendersetup information listed. From this screen, a user can update the lendersetup information, add or delete a lender.

Selecting U, User Setup, from the Utilities menu, shown in FIG. 3ADdisplays a screen such as that shown in FIG. 3AG with a list of currentusers for this dealer. From this screen a user can update a user'sinformation, add or delete a user.

A typical function key menu is illustrated in FIG. 3AH providing accessto additional features. For example, selecting item 3, Lender Lookup,from this menu displays the list of lenders shown in FIG. 3AC. Selectingitem 6, Search, from the function key menu displays the screen shown inFIG. 3AI providing search fields and beginning and ending date searchconstraints. FIG. 3AJ illustrates an example of a search result displayinitiated from the screen of FIG. 3AI.

Selecting item 8, News, from the function key menu, display a list ofnews items which can be selected and any system news, such as isillustrated in FIG. AK.

A dealer table at the lender may be provided with flags for:

(1) does the lender share bureau data on declines? and

(2) does the lender share bureau data on non-declines?

A lender can save an ARF file (Automated Record Format) for creditbureaus. This file can be transferred to the system according to thepresent invention which will read the ARF file and load the data intothe system's database. ARF files are used by the system to create thebureau summary formats as described above.

FIG. 4 illustrates a computer readable storage medium 400 having asubstrate 401 physically configured to represent a computer program forcausing a computer to provide a credit application analysis and decisionrouting system. The medium 400 could be a floppy disk or disks, opticaldisk or disks, computer readable magnetic tape or tapes, semiconductorread only memory or memories (ROM), or a programmed logic array orarrays, for example.

It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the mannerof making and using the claimed invention has been adequately disclosedin the above-written description of the referred embodiment takentogether with the drawings.

It will be understood that the above description of the preferredembodiment of the present invention is susceptible to variousmodifications, changes, and adaptations, and the same are intended to becomprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the appendedclaims.

The present invention allows a bank to have one standardized network andapplication interface to all of its auto dealers regardless of thedealer's F&I system, however as would be readily appreciated by oneskilled in the art, this can be expanded to include non-automotivecustomers.

What is claimed is:
 1. A credit application and routing system includinga central processor having and executing a program and furthercomprising: data input means for selectively receiving creditapplication data from respective applicants at remote locations; androuting means for selectively forwarding the credit application data toremote funding sources and forwarding funding decision data from thefunding sources to the respective applicants, wherein the routing meanscomprises means for sending at least a portion of a credit applicationto more than one of said remote funding sources sequentially until afunding source returns a positive funding decision or until all fundingsources have been exhausted.
 2. The credit application and routingsystem according to claim 1, wherein said central processor furtherprovides at least one of a loan calculator, lender product news andfunding source articles.
 3. A credit application and routing systemincluding a central processor having and executing a program and furthercomprising: data input means for selectively receiving creditapplication data from respective applicants at remote locations; androuting means for selectively forwarding the credit application data toremote funding sources and forwarding funding decision data from thefunding sources to the respective applicants, wherein the routing meanscomprises means for sending at least a portion of a credit applicationto a first one of said remote funding sources, and then, after apredetermined time delay, sequentially sending to each other remotefunding source in turn, until one of the remote finding sources returnsa positive funding decision or until all funding sources have beenexhausted.
 4. The credit application and routing system according toclaim 3, wherein said central processor further provides at least one ofa loan calculator, lender product news and funding source articles.
 5. Acredit application and routing system including a central processorhaving and executing a program and further comprising: data input meansfor selectively receiving credit application data from respectiveapplicants at remote locations; and routing means for selectivelyforwarding the credit application data to remote funding sources andforwarding funding decision data from the funding sources to therespective applicants, wherein the routing means comprises: means forsending at least a portion of a credit application to more than one ofsaid remote funding sources substantially at the same time; means forsending at least a portion of a credit application to more than one ofsaid remote funding sources sequentially until a funding source returnsa positive funding decision or until all funding sources have beenexhausted; and means for sending at least a portion of a creditapplication to a first one of said remote funding sources, and then,after a predetermined time delay, sending to at least one other remotefunding source, until one of the funding sources returns a positivefunding decision or until all funding sources have been exhausted. 6.The credit application and routing system according to claim 5, whereinsaid central processor further provides at least one of a loancalculator, lender product news and funding source articles.
 7. Acomputer based method of operating a credit application and routingsystem, the system including a central processor coupled to acommunications medium for communicating with remote application entryand display devices, remote credit bureau terminal devices, and remotefunding source terminal devices, the method comprising: selectivelyreceiving credit application data from a remote application entry anddisplay device; selectively obtaining credit report data from at leastone remote credit bureau terminal device; selectively forwarding thecredit application data, and credit report data if appropriate, to atleast one remote funding source terminal device; and forwarding fundingdecision data from the at least one remote finding source terminaldevice to the respective remote application entry and display device,wherein the step of selectively forwarding the credit application dataand credit report data to at least one remote funding source terminaldevice comprises: sending at least a portion of the credit applicationdata, and the credit report data if appropriate, to more than one ofsaid at least one remote funding source terminal devices substantiallyat the same time.
 8. The computer based method of claim 7, furthercomprising the step of enabling reviewing, analysis and editing of thecredit application data at the remote application entry and displaydevice prior to the step of selectively forwarding the creditapplication data.
 9. The computer based method of claim 7, wherein saidremote application entry and display device is located at a vehicledealer.
 10. A computer based method of operating a credit applicationand routing system, the system including a central processor coupled toa communications medium for communicating with remote application entryand display devices, remote credit bureau terminal devices, and remotefunding source terminal devices, the method comprising: selectivelyreceiving credit application data from a remote application entry anddisplay device; selectively obtaining credit report data from at leastone remote credit bureau terminal device; selectively forwarding thecredit application data, and credit report data if appropriate, to atleast one remote funding source terminal device; and forwarding fundingdecision data from the at least one remote finding source terminaldevice to the respective remote application entry and display device,wherein the step of selectively forwarding the credit application data,and credit report data if appropriate, to at least one remote fundingsource terminal device comprises one of: sending at least a portion of acredit application data, and credit report data if appropriate, to aplurality of funding source terminal devices sequentially until afinding source terminal device returns positive funding decision data oruntil all funding sources have been exhausted; and sending at least aportion of a credit application data, and credit report data ifappropriate, to a first one of a plurality of funding source terminaldevices, and then, after a predetermined time delay, sending to at leastone other finding source terminal device in turn, until a funding sourceterminal device returns positive funding decision data or until allfunding sources have been exhausted.
 11. The computer based method ofclaim 10, further comprising the step of enabling reviewing, analysisand editing of the credit application data at the remote applicationentry and display device prior to the step of selectively forwarding thecredit application data.
 12. A credit application and routing system,comprising: a communications medium; central processing means, operablycoupled to said communications medium, for executing a computer programwhich implements and controls credit application processing and routing;at least one credit application input terminal device, operably coupledto said communications medium, for keyboard entry of at least creditapplication information, for visual display of at least funding decisioninformation, and for sending and receiving to and from said centralprocessing means over said communications medium; and at least onefunding source terminal device, operably coupled to said communicationsmedium, for receiving at least a portion of a credit application oversaid communications medium from said at least one credit applicationinput terminal device through said central processing means, and forsending a funding decision to said at least one credit application inputterminal device through said central processing means over saidcommunications medium; wherein there are a plurality of funding sourceterminal devices connected to said communications medium, and wherein acredit application is sent to more than one of said plurality of fundingsource terminal devices over said communications medium through saidcentral processing means.
 13. A credit application and routing system,comprising: a communications medium; central processing means, operablycoupled to said communications medium, for executing a computer programwhich implements and controls credit application processing and routing;at least one credit application input terminal device, operably coupledto said communications medium, for keyboard entry of at least creditapplication information, for visual display of at least funding decisioninformation, and for sending and receiving, to and from said centralprocessing means over said communications medium; and at least onefunding source terminal device, operably coupled to said communicationsmedium, for receiving at least a portion of a credit application oversaid communications medium from said at least one credit applicationinput terminal device through said central processing means, and forsending a funding decision to said at least one credit application inputterminal device through said central processing means over saidcommunications medium; wherein there are a plurality of funding sourceterminal devices connected to said communications medium, and wherein acredit application is sent to more than one of said plurality of fundingsource terminal devices over said communications medium through saidcentral processing means.
 14. A credit application and routing system,comprising: a communications medium; central processing means, operablycoupled to said communications medium, for executing a computer programwhich implements and controls credit application processing and routing;at least one credit application input terminal device, operably coupledto said communications medium, for keyboard entry of at least creditapplication information, for visual display of at least funding decisioninformation, and for sending and receiving to and from said centralprocessing means over said communications medium; and at least onefunding source terminal device, operably coupled to said communicationsmedium, for receiving at least a portion of a credit application oversaid communications medium from said at least one credit applicationinput terminal device through said central processing means, and forsending a funding decision to said at least one credit application inputterminal device through said central processing means over saidcommunications medium, wherein said central processing means computerprogram which implements and controls credit application processing androuting, further provides for tracking pending credit applications. 15.The credit application and routing system according to claim 14, whereinsaid tracking pending credit applications further provides for queryingthe status of dealer accounts including at least one of current chargesand transactions processed.
 16. A credit application and routing system,comprising: a communications medium; central processing means, operablycoupled to said communications medium, for executing a computer programwhich implements and controls credit application processing and routing;at least one credit application input terminal device, operably coupledto said communications medium, for keyboard entry of at least creditapplication information, for visual display of at least funding decisioninformation, and for sending and receiving to and from said centralprocessing means over said communications medium; at least one fundingsource terminal device, operably coupled to said communications medium,for receiving at least a portion of a credit application over saidcommunications medium from said at least one credit application inputterminal device through said central processing means, and for sending afunding decision to said at least one credit application input terminaldevice through said central processing means over said communicationsmedium; and at least one credit bureau terminal device, operably coupledto said communications medium, for receiving at least a portion of acredit application from said at least one credit application inputterminal device through said central processing means over saidcommunications medium, and for sending credit information to said atleast one credit application input terminal device over saidcommunications medium through said central processing means, whereinsaid central processing means computer program which implements andcontrols credit application processing and routing, further provides fortracking pending credit applications.
 17. The credit application androuting system according to claim 16, wherein said central processingmeans computer program which implements and controls credit applicationprocessing and routing, further provides outcome results includingapproval, decline, conditional approval or a message.
 18. The creditapplication and routing system according to claim 16, wherein saidtracking pending credit applications further provides for querying thestatus of dealer accounts including at least one of current charges andtransactions processed.
 19. A credit application and routing system,comprising: a communications medium; central processing means, operablycoupled to said communications medium, for executing a computer programwhich implements and controls credit application processing and routing;at least one credit application input terminal device, operably coupledto said communications medium, for keyboard entry of at least creditapplication information, for visual display of at least funding decisioninformation, and for sending and receiving to and from said centralprocessing means over said communications medium; at least one fundingsource terminal device, operably coupled to said communications medium,for receiving at least a portion of a credit application over saidcommunications medium from said at least one credit application inputterminal device through said central processing means, and for sending afunding decision to said at least one credit application input terminaldevice through said central processing means over said communicationsmedium; and at least one credit bureau terminal device, operably coupledto said communications medium, for receiving at least a portion of acredit application from said at least one credit application inputterminal device through said central processing means over saidcommunications medium, and for sending credit information to said atleast one credit application input terminal device over saidcommunications medium through said central processing means, whereinsaid central processing means computer program which implements andcontrols credit application processing and routing, further providesfinance or loan versus lease analysis, new and used vehicle pricing,announcement messages, and a lender encyclopedia with productinformation.
 20. The credit application and routing system according toclaim 19, wherein said central processing means further provides atleast one of a loan calculator, lender product news and funding sourcearticles.
 21. A credit application and routing system including acentral processor having and executing a program and further comprising:data input means for selectively receiving credit application data fromrespective applicants at remote locations; and routing means forselectively forwarding the credit application data to remote fundingsources and forwarding finding decision data from the finding sources tothe respective applicants, wherein the routing means comprises: meansfor sending at least a portion of a credit application to more than oneof said remote funding sources substantially at the same time; means forsending at least a portion of a credit application to more than one ofsaid remote funding sources sequentially until a funding source returnsa positive funding decision or until all funding sources have beenexhausted; and means for sending at least a portion of a creditapplication to a first one of said remote finding sources, and then,after a predetermined time delay, or receipt of a decline or otherconditional response, sending to at least one other remote fundingsource, until one of the funding sources returns a positive fundingdecision or until all finding sources have been exhausted.
 22. A creditapplication and routing system, comprising: a communications medium;central processing means, operably coupled to said communicationsmedium, for executing a computer program which implements and controlscredit application processing and routing; at least one creditapplication input terminal device, operably coupled to saidcommunications medium, for keyboard entry of at least credit applicationinformation, for visual display of at least funding decisioninformation, and for sending and receiving to and from said centralprocessing means over said communications medium; and at least onefunding source terminal device, operably coupled to said communicationsmedium, for receiving at least a portion of a credit application oversaid communications medium from said at least one credit applicationinput terminal device through said central processing means, and forsending a funding decision to said at least one credit application inputterminal device through said central processing means over saidcommunications medium, wherein said central processing means computerprogram which implements and controls credit application processing androuting, further provides for querying the status of dealer accountsincluding at least one of current charges and transactions processed.23. A credit application and routing system according to claim 22,further comprising: at least one credit bureau terminal device, operablycoupled to said communications medium, for receiving at least a portionof a credit application from said at least one credit application inputterminal device through said central processing means over saidcommunications medium, and for sending credit information to said atleast one credit application input terminal device over saidcommunications medium through said central processing means.